A Cop in Shining Armour
by SirenJunkie
Summary: Faith Yokas knows better than to expect a "Happily Ever After" in her life. When she thrown into a modern-day Fairy Tale adventure, will the ending suprise her?


**A/N:** I know, I have so many fics on the go, I should be finishing them, not writing other random pieces. But I had inspiration for this oneshot and I had to write it! Reviews are always appreciated!

This story could not have been possible without the wonderful work put in by my Beta for the story, A Tattered Rose. Her incredible feedback took this story from a simple, fluffy oneshot to what I consider my finest fanfiction effort so far. This story is for you!

**A Cop in Shining Armour**

**By SirenJunkie**

When Faith Yokas was a little girl, sometimes at night, her mother would check on her brother, and then come into her bedroom and lock the door behind her. She would always head towards the bookshelf next to Faith's bed, and pull out a heavy, well-worn, leather-bound book and cuddle in next to Faith. On those nights, while Faith's father stormed around the house, shouting and breaking things in a drunken stupor, Mona Mitchell would read fairy tales to her young daughter.

One night in particular stood out in Faith's mind, vividly, despite the passage of time. It was a night when she first started to see the stories in her book as make-believe. After a particularly loud and damaging night, Faith and her mother had just finished another tale about finding true love and living happily ever after. Faith and Mona both liked the type of story with a hero, particularly heroic princes.

Faith was old enough to understand that her mother used this as an escape for herself, a way of hiding from her own far from perfect reality. Having a childhood like Faith's usually made a child grow up sooner than usual, and begin to see people for what they really were. As Faith listened to her father snoring in the next room, she couldn't help but glance up at her mother's face. There were deep lines around her eyes because she had always squinted with worry. It made her look much older than she really was. As Faith grew up she began to wonder why Mona had enjoyed the fairy tales so much, when her own life was the antithesis of a fairy tale.

"Mom. Do fairy tales ever come true?" She looked down at her hands, clutching at her pink bed-sheets. In an instant she wished she hadn't asked the question. She was almost afraid of what the answer would be.

She felt her mother sigh, and sensed her hesitation to answer the question. "I don't know Faith," she said carefully. "How do you want your own fairy tale to turn out?" She stood up from Faith's bed, gently replacing the old book in its usual space in the bookshelf.

Faith scrunched up her face, apparently deep in thought. "I want to be a hero. I want to marry a heroic Prince too." She said, smiling at her mother.

Mona smiled, but Faith could see that her eyes were sad and distant, the smile didn't reach there. "Knights in shining armour are few and far between these days." She said. "But don't let it stop you from looking, Faith."

Faith made herself comfortable in her pillows, and pulled up her blankets as she mulled over the thought. Her mother crossed the room and prepared to turn out the lights. Faith managed to grin weakly at her mother, "Goodnight, Mom."

Her mother gave her a tremulous smile, and flicked off the lights. "Goodnight, Princess Faith."

* * *

_So much for dreams and fairy tales._ Thought Faith Yokas bitterly, as she stared at the lights of New York City flash by the window of 55-David. Faith was certain she could answer her own question now. No matter how many frogs you kissed, you always ended up with more frogs, not princes. Heroes never came swooping in to save the day. In her experience she always had to save herself, somehow barely managing to keep her own head above water. She was pretty certain that dreams and fairy tales just set you up for bigger disappointment when everything went to hell. Which it always had a way of doing in the life of Faith Yokas. She'd never read fairy tales to her own daughter, hoping that Emily would grow up to be even more practical than her mother, and not bitter for the things she was missing in her own life.

She reflected on how her 'story' had turned out. Dropping out of college to have an unplanned baby. Marrying a prince who turned out to be a drunk, and then upped and died of a heart attack. The princess was left alone with two children and barely enough money to put food on the table for them. The princess ended up chasing drug dealers and thieves across her 'kingdom'. Forget heroics, it was more like she cleaned up the scum of the kingdom by day and came home to clean up after her children in her own castle at night.

Faith realized that her profession made it impossible to believe in fairy tales and dreams come true. How could you, when every day on the job you had bear witness to the tragedies that shattered the happily ever afters of others? After all that happened in her life, a career in policing was like the nail in the coffin of her fairy tale dreams. Faith couldn't believe in them, but couldn't abandon fairy tales either. She couldn't help but compare her own bitter reality to the stories she remembered from childhood. Was this really all that life had to offer to Faith Yokas?

Faith was snapped back to reality as she felt her body jerk forward as her partner slammed on the breaks, inches away from the bumper of a yellow cab. She had to hide a grin as she studied her partner, who was presently going red in the face and screaming at the top of his lungs at the unsuspecting taxi driver. Shouting something about a loaded gun and the law on his side, Faith had covered her snickering with one hand. At least whoever had written her fairy tale had gotten one part right, they'd given her one hell of a partner. He yelled too loud, ran into the most dangerous situations, and always managed to get himself into trouble, but he was damn loyal and she wouldn't change him for anything.

"Can you BELIEVE these jag-offs!?" Bosco whined slamming his fist against the horn. "You'd think they handed out taxi cab licenses to the out-patients of Bellvue!" He said to Faith, and then leaned out the window, raising his voice a few decibels, "Get the hell out of my way, dumbass!"

Faith attempted to look stern, hiding her amusement with indignation. "Nice, Bosco. Really nice." Faith briefly tried to remember a story where the faithful sidekick was a contrary loudmouth. _Only in the story of Faith Yokas. _She mused, taking a sip from her nearly empty coffee cup.

"Oh give me a break Faith." He retorted. "I've seen you yell worse things at them when YOU dri.." He was cut off as the radio crackled to life.

"Central to 55-David." Called the scratchy voice.

"What do you know. A quest." Faith muttered sarcastically.

"What's that?" Bosco asked, looking at her quizzically.

"Shhh!" She hissed at him, turning back to her radio she pressed the transmit button on her radio and spoke louder. "Go ahead central."

"You have a jumper, 118th and King." Central reported.

Bosco cut in before Faith could answer. "Whoa, central, are there no other units around? What about 55 Charlie?" Faith knew that Bosco had especially hated responding to jumpers after they dropped a guy once. She knew it had bothered him more than he ever let on.

"Negative, David. All other units show at a MVA." The dispatcher sounded irritated.

Faith sighed, "10-4, 118th and King." Bosco winced visibly and turned down the next street, heading towards the scene. Faith swallowed the last of her now lukewarm coffee. "Show time." She said, and placed her empty cup in the cupholder.

"And I thought it might be a good day." Bosco moaned, flipping on the sirens and hitting the gas. Faith just braced herself and remained quiet as her partner weaved in and out of traffic.

* * *

Faith gasped for breath as they finally made it to the rooftop access door, following behind the building superintendant. He wrung his hands, his eyes fearful.

"She's out there. I didn't talk to her, I was afraid I'd scare her." The short, balding man stopped and pushed the door open, and the wind from the roof whipped down the narrow stairwell.

"What's her name?" Faith asked glancing out the door.

"Maggie? Or maybe Michelle? I can't remember." The man ducked his head, apparently embarrassed by this fact.

"Can you find her parents for us?" Faith queried.

"I think her Ma might work late, but I'll double check at her apartment." He replied before hurrying back down the stairs, taking advantage of an opportunity to avoid the glare Bosco was giving him.

"Thanks." Faith called after him, and then stepped out the door onto the roof.

The apartment building was one of the tallest in the area, and Faith could see the tops of all the other buildings around from where she stood on the open rooftop. The wind whipped her blonde hair out of her neat bun, dancing it across her worried features. As the wind tugged at her uniform, she noted how it was fitting to the story of the day. She was at the top of the castle, on a precipice, the evil wind howling. Faith shook her head, reminding herself she had a job to do, and continued to survey her surroundings. She knew with the vicious gusts it could get dangerous up here in a hurry. As she looked over the edge of the building, she was briefly overwhelmed from the vertigo, she had to step back quickly, in fear that the wind would come alive and shove her to a painful death.

"Well, that height would certainly do ya." Muttered Bosco, as he craned his neck to look down also.

"Be quiet Bos. She'll hear you." Faith hissed through her teeth, her eyes now on the young teenage girl standing on the ledge facing King Street. The lights from the storefronts below made the girl almost glow with an eerie light. She was probably about the same age as Emily, but there was something about her that made her look fragile. The girl's own blonde hair hung past her shoulders and was dancing with the wind, making her the perfect picture of a damsel in distress. As with any case with a child, Faith knew she had to do anything to help this girl.

"Well get to it then. I ain't talkin' to her." Bosco motioned for her to step closer to where the girl was precariously perched in the gusting wind, toes hanging over the edge.

"Sweetie?" Faith called out tentatively, softly. "My name is Officer Yokas. I'm just going to come stand closer to you. Beside you, okay?" She shuffled slowly closer to the girl.

The girl whipped her head around quickly, swaying on the ledge. "Don't get too close! Don't try to stop me!" Faith and Bosco both had a sharp intake of breath as she began swaying more erratically until Faith stopped moving a few paces behind her.

Faith slowly let out her breath, and tried to find her voice again. "What's your name, hun?"

"Megan." Said the girl, her voice shaking. "My name is Megan." Faith could see Megan's hands shaking and saw a silvery tear on her cheek as the girl stared intently at the sidewalk so far below. Faith could sense her partner moving off to Megan's other side, slowly and very carefully. She knew the girl must be studying the people on the sidewalk several stories below, from the height they were tiny dots, illuminated by the lights at street level. The way she followed them so intently, Faith felt that she was looking for someone amongst the crowds of people.

Faith took two steps forward while keeping her eyes locked on the tragic look on Megan's features , she felt her heart ache with sympathy. "So what has got you upset enough to be up here scaring me and my partner, Megan?" Faith asked carefully from her position just an arm's length away from the girl's side.

Megan clenched her eyes, and sobs wracked her slight frame. Faith bit her lip as the girl swayed again. "My boy…my boyfriend broke up with me." She choked out, still sobbing and rubbing at her teary cheeks. _Another shattered Fairy tale_, Faith thought briefly. Faith glanced at her partner, and could tell they now had the same thought. _Déjà vu. _It was just like their last jumper. Faith was at a loss for words, unsure how to proceed. She stole another glance at Bosco, and she knew that he'd be able to read the panic and frustration in her eyes. She knew he would know that she was caught up in the memory of watching that young man fall.

Faith was surprised when Bosco spoke up. "Megan, look at me." His voice was firm, but kind. Faith recognized the tone, it was the one he had used to talk Rick out of their squad. She stared at him questioningly, and he nodded ever so slightly in response. His way of telling her to trust him, he had a plan. Bosco rarely had plans that didn't involve whipping out his gun, but Faith was at a loss for a plan of her own, so she stayed quiet.

Megan opened her eyes and looked at the male officer, and Faith felt her stomach twist with nervousness. She wondered what Bosco's next words would be, praying they would be the right ones. Even though Megan was facing away from her, when she spoke, Faith could tell she must have stopped crying. "Who are you?" Megan asked, with shy curiosity in her voice.

"I'm Officer Boscorelli. You can call me Bosco though. All the pretty girls do." Bosco flashed her his most charming, sparkling smile. Faith had to stop herself from letting her jaw drop open. Where had this come from? She decided she'd let Bosco play his heroic Prince role, and used the girl's distraction with Bosco to sneak closer to her. Faith tried to ignore the wind maliciously jostling her, as if trying to determine if it could undermine her balance.

As Faith inched closer, she could hear the smile in Megan's voice, "You think I'm pretty?" She asked shyly. Faith was just in reach now, and tried not to think about the staggering drop just inches away from her feet. She waited for Bosco's reply, holding her breath.

"Of course Megan. I think you should tell me where your jag-off ex lives, so I can tell him what an idiot he is." Bosco smiled again, knowing his charms would do the job. Faith was relieved he seemed to be getting through to her.

Megan started to giggle in response, imagining a cop showing up at her ex-boyfriend's house. As she laughed harder the wind chose that moment to come up with a roar, throwing ferocious gusts across the rooftop. With the savagery of the wind and distracted by her mirth, Megan lost her footing.

Megan shrieked, waving her arms frantically trying to regain her balance, while both Bosco and Faith yelled "NO!" in terror. Faith dove at Megan shoving her away from the ledge, and to her relief saw the girl falling towards the rooftop and Bosco. In a split second that seemed to last an eternity, Faith realized that in her effort to save the girl, she had lost her own balance. She could swear she heard the wind growl with triumph as it further pushed her, and now she was falling towards the ledge and the fatal drop to the street below. Faith definitely didn't have time for her life to flash before her eyes. Her only thought was, _The Princess plummets to her death? What a shitty ending._

Her survival instincts kicked in, and in the next instant Faith found herself clutching desperately to a bar just below the ledge, her throat too frozen with terror to yell to her partner for help.

She looked up to see Bosco's face over the ledge straining his hand towards her. She sobbed and choked. His fingers were just inches from hers. He couldn't reach her. "Faith. Faith I need to you grab onto me with one of your hands." He said calmly, capturing her eyes with his and trying to convince her not to panic. She bit back a scream as the wind ripped at her dangling body, doubling its efforts in its quest to claim her life. Faith attempted to channel her partner's calm, trying to ignore the anger of the wind.

Faith was certain her heart had stopped beating. Her brain was screaming a million thoughts; frantic thoughts of what her children and even Bosco would do without her. She was vaguely surprised at how badly her hands were burning, clenched in a death grip. She looked up at her partner wide eyed. "I can't. I'll fall." She squeaked, and to her terror realized that her fingers were still slipping on the shiny metal, despite her clenched fists. "You won't be able to hold me."

"Faith. Look at me." Bosco demanded, his voice sounded a lot calmer than Faith had expected, when she knew that inside he must have been going out of his mind with worry. "I would never drop you. I'll save you. You can trust me." Faith's mind flashed to the terrified face of the boy they had dropped, and whimpered at the thought of her body, broken on the pavement.

She glanced up at her partner again, noticing that he was leaning over so far, it was likely that her weight might pull him over the small ledge. "You might fall." She said, her voice shaking with fear. It was bad enough to know she might be doomed, she couldn't let her partner risk himself like that.

Bosco's face became resolute. "I won't Faith. You know I can do this. Now give me your hand."

Resolve washed over Faith, _Bosco would never let me down,_ She thought defiantly at the wind that was still clawing at her body. She clenched her eyes, and prepared herself. She muttered a prayer to whoever might be listening and used all her strength to swing one of her hands upwards towards Bosco's. She was stunned in the next instant to feel two strong hands gripping her arm. To her intense relief, Bosco began to pull her up and it seemed he had a good enough stance to keep his balance.

From the look on Bosco's face, Faith could tell his muscles were screaming at the effort, but he braced himself and pulled like his life depended on it. As she neared the top of the ledge, he wrapped his arms around her as much as possible and gave one last giant tug, bringing her in over the ledge. Faith was positive she could hear the wind shrieking with rage at its defeat.

Bosco stood Faith up on her feet, and she stood gasping for breath while he just stared at her. She stared too, looking at her sidekick turned Prince Charming, and it was as if the heroics triggered something within her, and it was like she was seeing him for the first time. Faith was shocked when her partner pulled her into a hug. Touching wasn't a Faith and Bosco thing, but it felt right this time. She hugged him back, grateful for his solidarity because her knees still felt weak.

She felt disappointed when he withdrew from the hug. He still held her arms though, and together they sat down side by side against the solid brick ledge. Faith stole a quick glance at Megan, who was sitting further away on the roof, crying and cradling her ankle like it might be injured. Faith knew that FDNY would be here soon, and they would see to the girl. She wasn't entirely sure she'd be able to stand up on her own to try and help Megan anyways.

She was aware that Bosco was still looking at her, and she turned her head to face her partner again. "I thought I'd lost you there, Faith." He said softly, and placed a hand on top of hers. "I was freaked."

Faith was surprised to feel her body flood with warmth at the touch of his hand on hers. She smiled at him, "You were the perfect hero though. Thank you for saving me Bos."

He grinned his crooked smile, the one Faith had always liked best. "Officer Boscorelli, your personal Cop in Shining Armour." He joked.

"A real heroic prince." She murmured. She looked down at his hand on hers, and then back at his face as a thought suddenly occurred to her. _He was the Prince all along. _

Faith's mind was reeling, she'd never anticipated his lips would be so soft. She realized with a thrill that he was actually kissing her back. She was amazed to feel her breath catch in her throat, and tingles ran down the length of her body. Kissing Fred had never felt like this. Her last thought before she pulled away was that she couldn't believe she'd waited all these years to do this.

She regretfully detached her lips from his, and studied his reaction. He was struggling to catch his own breath so he could speak. "Christ, Yokas." He said softly, as he lifted a finger to stroke her cheek with tenderness she'd never expected to find in him. "You tellin' me I've been missing out on _that_ for years?" Faith was relieved at his reaction, knowing now that he was just as surprised as she was. She also knew, as he leaned in closer again, that he had enjoyed it. He kissed her again, softly, and with tender warmth.

She broke away with regret, only to burrow into his arms, enjoying the opportunity to simply hold him. Her Prince read her thoughts, tightening his arms around her frame, making her feel safe from the wind that had diminished to a soft murmur.

The distant, muted sounds of the streets were carried on the wind, a reminder of how the wind had come so close to claiming her life that night. Faith rested her head on Bosco's shoulder and sighed. The wind could blow all it wanted to, she had a hero she could depend on.

* * *

Faith looked up from her stacks of cardboard boxes as she heard her apartment door slam. Her daughter dropped her bag next to the hall table, before heading towards the kitchen.

"Hi Mom." She said, as she pulled open the refrigerator door. "Doing some spring cleaning?" She eyed the stacks of boxes in the middle of the living room.

Faith dug further into one labeled 'Faith's Room' before replying distractedly. "Sort of." Her fingertips finally grazed a worn leather cover, with faded, in-laid golden letters. She pulled it triumphantly from the box and wiped the layer of dust from it reverently.

She could tell she had surprised her daughter when she crossed the room to the kitchen, kissed her on the forehead and pressed the book into her hands. Faith smiled at her daughter's questioning half-grin. "Fairy tales, Mom?"

Faith caught Emily off guard once more, and swept her up in a hug. "You'll understand someday, Princess."

The End


End file.
